Wednesday, September 3, 2014

It's been an extra busy summer and we apologize for not updating you sooner with harvesting tips. However, we are going to make it up to you!

Our Edible Kent garden beds have really driven home the virtue that you reap what you sow. We've had an incredibly successful harvest of veggies and herbs, and we're thrilled you're enjoying them.

We want to invite you to join us on Saturday, September 13 at 10 a.m. for our Fall Harvest Meet-Up where we'll harvest sorrel, kale, basil, peppers, parsley, valerian, nasturtiums, and scallions. We'll also talk about transitioning the garden from summer to fall and give you a tour of the beds. Plus, you'll learn how to plant cold weather crops and we'll talk about preserving your garden harvest for the fall.

As always, we are happy to answer any questions you may have about what we do and how the community gardens help bring people together, so please don't hesitate to ask. You can also email your questions to: ediblekent@gmail.com.

We can't wait to see you Saturday, September 13 at the Edible Kent beds on Franklin Street near the Haymaker Farmers' Market. Please feel free to bring a friend to this educational opportunity!

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Spicy Bush Basil is bordering the Edible Kent beds. With countless varieties of basil available, we chose this variety since it makes a great edible border. Outside of its aesthetic appeal, this variety adds a little kick to recipes that your average Sweet Basil can't beat.

This basil can be harvested throughout the growing season. Currently our plants are in dire need of some trimming. They are growing tall, but not out in the globe-like appearance seen above. For this reason, we are encouraging our supporters and volunteers to head out and get some trimmings. All you will need are your fingernails or some scissors. When harvesting Spicy Bush Basil, you can pinch off the leaves (and stem) at the top, allowing light to get to the lower parts of the plant and helping it take on its preferred globe shape. If you're a visual person, please take a look at the video below. While this video covers harvesting Sweet Basil, the same rules apply to our Spicy Bush Basil.

It's important to keep in mind that you don't want to harvest the basil during the hottest points of the day. A good rule to follow is to harvest during the early morning hours or in the cool of the evening.

Now that you know a little about our basil and how to harvest it, feel free to head downtown and get some for dinner tonight. :) Just make sure you take what you need, leaving some green goodness for others to enjoy.

If you're unsure on how to use your fresh basil for dinner, please see the recipe below. As always Edible Kent is here to help and educate others on sustainable food production, if you have any questions or concerns, please email us at ediblekent@gmail.com.

Sunday, July 20, 2014

It's been more than a month since many helpful hands came together to clear and plant the Edible Kent beds. All of our produce and beneficial plants are coming along nicely.

Today, we gathered at the beds again for some general maintenance. The weeds have really enjoyed our amended soil, so had to be dealt with. Some of the plants were also ready to be harvested. We picked kale, rainbow chard, and onions. The kale and chard are great to harvest, since you only need to pick a couple leaves and keep the plant intact to produce more. Some of the onions were pulled as they seemed very eager to get out of the ground and onto the plate.

This has been such a great learning experience so far and we really appreciate our volunteers. Your hard work has made this vision and initiative possible.

Our Sunday Harvest to Share with Volunteers. :)

Note to Edible Kent harvesters and volunteers:Outside of the harvesting and weeding, we did notice a few missing plants that were pulled out altogether. These may have been a weeding accidents, or someone who just didn't know that most of the plants in our beds don't need to be pulled to be properly harvested. The dandelion greens, for example, can be picked one leaf at the time. Leaving the plant to produce more for others to use. Our thyme was also missing. This is another plant that can simply be plucked, one at a time, allowing others to enjoy. There are only a couple plants that are harvested by one big pull and those are the onions, the celeriac, and the fennel (which aren't ready to harvest yet). Everything else can be harvested one leaf at a time. We understand that this is a learning experience for everyone involved, so if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to email us at ediblekent@gmail.com and we will be happy to assist. :) Other than a couple (minor) hiccups, the beds really do look amazing, the plants are healthy and we owe this success to your support. Thank you! x

Saturday, May 31, 2014

Apologies for the silence on this blog over the past few months. It was a long, cold winter, but as the spring buds came back to life, so did Edible Kent. We have our seeds started and are gearing up to plant in downtown Kent on June 7th. Will you join us?We are in need of volunteers for our ground-breaking first plant as an organization and hope to see you there! Starting at 9 am, under the Haymaker Farmers' Market bridge, on Franklin Street, we are going to clear and plant two Adopt-a-spot beds. All in one day. Yes, you heard that right. :) In the meantime, please take a look at our wishlist for supplies to help make this one day goal possible:

- At least 10 volunteers- Rototiller or garden tillers – If someone has a gas-powered one to bring, please let us know. We only need one gas-powered rototiller. If they aren’t automated, then we need about 3 people to bring manual ones.• Shovels• Trowels• Nice markers (to fill out our adorable plant signs)• A truck for dumping debris• A wheel barrow• Tarps or old trash cans for debris• Broom to clean any mess off of sidewalks

We will meet under the Haymaker Farmers' Market bridge in downtown Kent, June 7th at 9 a.m.As for what we'll be offering the Kent Community this year, there will be a variety of herbs, peppers, edible flowers, and plenty of beneficials to keep the bees and butterflies happy as they pollinate our organic produce. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us at ediblekent@gmail.com.Hope to see you next week!